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Arizona to play UConn in the Final Four

Posted at 11:16 PM, Mar 31, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-02 09:20:32-04

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Arizona, making its first Final Four appearance, will play a UConn program making its 13th consecutive trip to the national semifinals.

"Yeah, we are underdogs," said UArizona head coach Adia Barnes. "I think the thing for us is we don’t care. If we would have listened to other people, we wouldn’t have been in the tournament or even here. We have zero pressure. We’re playing our best basketball right now. It’s really hard to prepare for momentum. We have momentum right now."

The Wildcats are listed as a 13.5 point underdog. They are led by Pac-12 Player of the Year Aari McDonald, who will match up against UConn guard Paige Bueckers, the Associated Press National Player of the Year, the first freshman to do so.

"She's a talented player," said McDonald. "I'll give her that. But, I'm going to make it hard for her to score, and I'm really excited to defend her."

McDonald is also the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Stanford will play South Carolina in the other national semifinal. Both of those schools are number one seeds.

Barnes joins South Carolina's Dawn Staley in a Women's Final Four that will feature at least two female head coaches of color.

"It's incredible to be representing black female coaches in the biggest stage," said Barnes. "This is the biggest stage for women's basketball. So, I think it's an honor."